Rose Rescue

Last night I couldn't fall asleep because I kept imagining a deer crunching at mouthfuls of the Blush Noisette. What made it worse was that I was deeply stressed over one of the kids who was out late. How can I watch over my children and keep them safe if I can't even keep a stupid deer away from a rose? I prayed a while and felt better about the son in question. There's only so much a mom can do and sometimes a good talk with God is enough.

At 1:34 a.m. I went outside and spread a bunch of hair over the buds of the Blush Noisette. I had removed the hair the other day when friends visited because there's nothing so gross as a beautiful rose all webbed in hair. yuk. But I forgot to replace the hair after they left, a most grievous error on my part. If that deer chomps on my roses tonight, I hope my hair gets stuck annoyingly between his teeth for a long time. Deer don't floss.

While I was outside last night, I snipped off the 4 Blush Noisette roses so I wouldn't worry about them disappearing overnight. I looked out over the moonlit field and asked God to tell the deer to eat somewhere else. Leave my roses alone. They are mine. The pleasure they give is mine to use as I want and I've already decided that it's for me, my family and my friends, not uninvited animals. I asked God to watch over my son and send any trouble elsewhere. My son is still mine for a little bit longer. sigh.

Back inside I placed the 4 Blush Noisette blossoms in water in a doll cup. The roses smelled wonderful. Here's a photo I took this afternoon. The fragrance is definitely stronger today and I do detect the clove now. I carried that little cup of flowers around to each room I went today so as not to miss one sniffable moment. What loveliness!





The Scepter'd Isle on the deck is taking its sweet time opening up. But each day I get a little more glimpse of this gorgeous pink beauty.

I don't know what those spiky things are on the green parts of the rose. Maybe the aphids put them there. Those spiky things look like the sticky hairs on a Sundew Plant. They're very hard to see without a magnifying glass but I still find them disturbing. I'll have to find out what they are and what can be done to remove them. Maybe they can be brushed or buffed off somehow.